The seven best hard rock/metal bands of the last seven years

Okay, to celebrate the seventh blogiversary I commited to coming up with a list of what I think are the seven best bands of the last seven years. So that allows us back to mid 2005. My task is selecting what seven hard rock metal bands have produced the best music since then. There were some bands who started that time period well, but have since broken up and that ended their chances (Ogre and Byzantine fall in this cateogry). There were the bands that did something great in the early part of the seven year time period, but  have not followed it up (Acid King, Celtic Frost). So here are my final choices in no real order.

 Ufomammut-This Italian outfit plays a combination of experimental/doom/stoner/noise and they have just gotten better and better with each album. They released my favorite album of 2010 and their current album is my favorite of 2012 so far.

Sigh-I have trouble thinking of Sigh as being a veteran outfit, but with more than 20 years in the business they are. Their sound hasn't as much changed over the years as it has evolved. I enjoy their earlier material, but I am mesmerized by their more recent efforts.

Between the buried and me-A prog band? What was I thinking? Sure, these guys have the technical skills, but the important thing is they put the rock into progressive rock and they are heavy to boot. It's also possible that they have not yet reached their peak.

Admiral Browning-Yes, I know you've probably never heard of them. They are a Maryland trio who play doom/stoner/progressive instrumentals. They are amazing and really mix up the tones and sounds.

Iron Maiden-What? This isn't the 80's, what kind of suck-up fanboy are you, Metal Mark? Stick with me here. Now granted Maiden's output isn't as frequent as they once were. This seven year period has seen them release A matter of life and death (great, one of their best and best album of 2006), The Final Frontier was a top five in it's year plus add in Flight 666 and En Vivo! and you see and hear a band that's still one of the best going.

Hibria-Come on, Metal Mark the list is almost over and not one younger retro-thrash or retro-classic metal or retro-something. Okay, how about Hibria. Unfortunately their "Defying the rules" album falls about eight months before the cutoff, but their other albums are just as good. I could pick someone like Municipal Waste or Enforcer who have done a good job of channeling the vibe of old school metal. However Hibria do that plus they combine classic metal and power metal plus they manage to develop some of their own identity as well.

Gypsy Pistoleros/Gypsy Pistolero-What no glam bands on this list? Easily the best glam band in recent years. Creative, energetic and catchy. The only downside is they have really suffered from being unable to keep a stable line-up.


There you go. Love it, hate it, add own list.

Sigh-In somniphobia

2012

I am sure that everyone has had dreams that are so crazy and there yet there is something intriguing about them that burns them into your brain. Sigh's music has always been that way to my ears. Even after twenty plus years in this business the ideas are still flowing for this band. Sigh were more a metal band in their earlier days, but they spread their wings over the years. They are still metal in the sense there is a layer of heaviness that is almost always present to some extent. However In somniphobia is a prime example of how this band can incorporate so many different sounds and styles into their music. Here they mix heavy surges with bits that sound like they are from a warped spaghetti western and then turn the pace on it's ear. The end result is a quirky and unpredictably wild ride. In less expert hands this could have been messy. With Sigh we get eleven tracks of madness and mayhem plus there is never a dull moment. Among my favorite tracks on this album are the truly bizarre yet totally logical "The transfiguration fear lucid nightmares", the bent and twisted "Amnesia" and the berserk "Amongst the phantoms of abandoned tumbrils". Yet another astounding album from one of the most interesting bands going today.

Top 10 best re-issues/re-releases of 2011

Our top album lists we be out later this week. In addition to a list of new releases I started doing a list of the top re-issues and re-leases two or three years ago. This year was had so many good entries that I decided to expand the list from 5 to 10. So here they are in order from 1-10.


1-Twisted Sister-Under the blade CD/DVD set
It's one of the best Twister Sister albums with bonus tracks and the DVD is a live show from when they were still raw and angry.

2-Orange Goblin-5 disc box set
Five great helpings of pure thick stoner rock and bonus tracks on each one. WOW!

3-Jethro Tull-Aqualung 40th anniversary special edition 2 disc set
A great sounding remix on Aqualung and a whole disc of bonus tracks.

4-Mos Generator-s/t
Their debut debut re-issued with bonus tracks.

5-Sigh-Scorn Defeat
They had a rougher sound nearly twenty years ago, but just as impressive.

6-Stone Axe-S/T CD/DVD set
The original just came out a couple of years ago, but this version has bonus live tracks and a whole DVD full of live songs.

7-Uncannny-MCMXCI -collected works
Their one album plus demos equals a massive attack of classic early death metal.

8-Thin Lizzy-The boys are back in town, Live in Sydney, Australia 1978
Not their greatest live album, but it's a prime Thin Lizzy show with the band sounding very relaxed.

9-Warlock-Hellbound
My favorite Warlock albums got the re-issue treatment this year.

10-Atomic Rooster-s/t
A very underrated album.

Sigh-Scorn Defeat

Deepsend
1993/2011

Japan's Sigh originally releases the seven track album Scorn defeat back in 1993. The band sometimes gets lumped in with the black metal genre, but that's not an exact match for what they because they are so much more than that. Even though this early album is different from their later work it still showed many sparks of their odd brilliance. Sigh were opening boundaries for metal and pushing beyond the limited confines of the style to some extent even back then. Tracks like "Gundali" and "Ready for the final war" hear the band creating their own style and sounding very comfortable with it. This re-issue includes much more than the original album. We are treated to a pile of bonus tracks including covers, demos and songs from split albums. All together this package serves as a decent time capsule for Sigh. The Scorn Defeat songs are my favorite here, but the bonus tracks are solid as well. In a year that has already seen some great re-issues this one still stands out as one of the best so far.